Disillusionment
by Juliet99
Summary: Pansy's depressed on the night of the Yule Ball and finds comfort in an unexpected place...


A/N: This is an SMS! (Small Meaningless Story) Don't say I didn't warn you...  
  
I sighed as I stared out over the lake from the balcony. The bushes were all lit up with fairy light, making the ground shine like the stars. It was a cold night, and my dress robes were too thin to keep me warm. I looked back inside the Great Hall, and the dancing laughing crowd inside, and considered joining them. For the twentieth time, I wondered where Draco was. 'Get over it Pansy,' I thought to myself. 'He's probably off with some girl, having the time of his life, not stuck with plain little Pansy, but with some fabulously beautiful girl, dancing. Or not dancing.'  
  
"This sucks," I said out loud.  
  
"Tell me about it," a voice said gloomily from behind me. I turned around quickly, startled. Standing behind me was the last person I would have expected to see.  
  
"Pansy," he said, inclining his head slightly.  
  
"Harry," I said in acknowledgment. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"Probably about the same as you are," he said with a wry smile.  
  
"Shouldn't you be inside with your girlfriend?" I sneered, trying to cover up for my brief moment of friendliness. "You worked *so* hard to get with her. It would be a shame to waste all that effort."  
  
He looked inside, and grimaced. "She's... busy," he said shortly. Curiously, I peered through the doorway. Cho was standing in the middle of a large crowd of admiring boys. The spiked punch was taken effect - she was obviously a little tipsy. More than a little tipsy. He sighed, and leaned against the balcony.  
  
"Ever thought that you knew someone?" he asks, too casually for it to just be a question. "I mean really thought you knew someone. You thought they were... they were perfect, and then..."  
  
"You talk to them. And realise that they're not perfect. That they're not as smart, or as funny, or as caring. That they really isn't anything underneath the facade they show to the rest of the world. That they're nothing you thought they would be, and everything you thought they were not. It's called disillusionment, Potter," I said, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice. "Get used to it.  
  
He looked at me appraisingly. "Draco?" He asked. I nodded. "Did he turn you down?"  
  
"Didn't give me the privilege," I spat. "Just arrived with me to keep his Daddy happy, and then went of with some girl. Possibly several girls."  
  
"I know how that feels," he said, smiling sympathetically. "I'm sorry," he added.  
  
I turned towards him, surprised at his sincerity. "You're sorry?" I asked, incredulously. "Why? I'm a Slytherin, you're a Gryffindor, in case you hadn't noticed. You hate me. I hate you. It's a happy arrangement."  
  
"So?" he asked. "People don't deserve to be treated this way." A smile flickered around the corner of his lips. "Even if they *did* think that Malfoy was anything else but a prat."  
  
I returned the smile. "You don't deserve this either. Even if you *did* think that Cho was anything else but a tart." He grimaced, and squared his shoulders.   
  
"Well, gotta go," he said. "By the way, your dress robes are a lot nicer than your last set." And with that he left the balcony, leaving me absent-mindedly smoothing my dress robes, leaning against the balcony.  
  
'So,' I thought to myself. "Potter really isn't a horrible stuck up prat. How interesting...'  
  
I smiled. Maybe not all disillusionment is bad...  
  
A/N: Did y'all like that? Any good? In case you didn't figure it out, it's the 5th Year Yule Ball, Harry's going out with Cho, who's flirting with anything male that stands still long enough, and Pansy went with Draco again, who's gone of with some girl dancing. (Or with several girls. Or not dancing at all.) And, no, I'm not going to embark on a huge Harry/Pansy romance. Well, I would if people wanted me too, but they don't, so I won't. Please review and you may have some cake from my profile piccy.  
  
** It's "Be Nice To Completely Undeveloped Characters" Week! Choose a character and see how you go!**  



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